SANTOS Maciel

Classification
BC2 (worldboccia.com, 05 Aug 2021)

Type of Impairment
Cerebral Palsy (cpb.org.br, 01 Jun 2019)

Origin of Impairment
Congenital (brasil2016.gov.br, 06 Jul 2015)

Impairment Details
He was born with cerebral palsy. (cpb.org.br, 01 Jun 2019; brasil2016.gov.br, 06 Jul 2015)

General
DEALING WITH DISAPPOINTMENT
His ambition to win gold in front of a home crowd at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro was ended when he was eliminated in the pool stages of the individual BC2 competition. He also did not manage to win a medal at the 2018 World Championships in Liverpool, England, but in 2019 he said he had learned how to better cope with disappointment. "Failures are a stepping stone to make bigger jumps in my professional race. I really wished to become a champion at Rio 2016 on my home ground because it would be the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I felt frustration at [the 2018 World Championships] because I had prepared as well as I did in 2014 [when he won individual bronze at the world championships]. But I realised how much the level of the world championships had increased, after analysing it more calmly. I should train more and more in order not to be left behind in my category. Each competition is different, so I should never think as if previous success must be repeated. No matter how hard you work, you won't be always able to reach your final goals. But you should keep holding your head up high and start all over again because we athletes don't have time to lament for each failure." (paralympic.org, 23 Jul 2019)